NBL1 Central Recap | Women's Round 15

Sensational Simons stars: It was a Halls medal like performance when the Eagles most needed as Adelaide Lightning's Sam Simons produced a stunner  | AllStar Photos/Kelly Barnes

Saturday 16/07/22

Forestville Eagles vs West Adelaide Bearcats

Sensational Simons stops streak of Bearcats

If there was a Halls medal performance of the season it came from Forestville Eagles Sam Simons as she and her team downed the inform Bearcats 66-61 at the Nest. Simons steered the Eagles to a huge start 42-29 and had their lead out to as many as 21 points off the back of 8 points from turnovers and fastbreak opportunities. The Bearcats came roaring back to protect their ten-game winning streak in the fourth as they retook the lead 55-56 through Jasmin Fejo (20 points), but down the stretch Simons made 7 points to give the Eagles their biggest scalp of the season. Simons amassed 29 points and 13 rebounds to lead all comers.  

Woodville Warriors vs Sturt Sabres (Kayo Game of the Week)

Sabres by name and nature annihilate Warriors 

After quarter time it was Sabres by name and by nature as they tore the Warriors apart 29-99 at the Castle. The Sabres held the Warriors to 15 points for the remainder of the match and unfortunately the homeside produced the lowest score of the league since pre 2019 season with the Sabres piling on 78 points after the quarter time buzzer. It was a collective effort as the young gun Caitlin Dyer lodged a career high 18 points with 4 triples and 3 steals with Mikayla Williams setting it up early with 15 points and 9 rebounds and captain Lauren Gibbons dropping 4 triples for 14 points and 3 steals of her own. Only Eliza Joynes impacted for the Warriors with 9 points and 7 rebounds.          

South Adelaide Panthers vs North Adelaide Rockets

Forbes provides rich Jade gem for Panthers 

When called upon to step-up, import for the Panthers Holly Forbes provided her best of the season as she elevated Jade Johnson and the Panthers to a gritty 71-55 win at the Jungle over the determined North Adelaide Rockets. Forbes grabbed a double double and did her duty when it counted in the third quarter 21-14. She had 12 points and 10 rebounds including 6 offensive rebounds that gave the Panthers 11 second chance points. That setup Johnson who was tightly guarded across the first half by Lauren Badenoch to finish with 25 points and 8 rebounds. Peyton Taylor was the best again for the Rockets with 16 points and 6 rebounds and along with Tayla Corrigan (10 points and 8 rebounds) played through foul trouble which caught up with both of them in the end.    

Southern Tigers vs Eastern Mavericks

Flames to Fire Yaeger torches Mavs

A newly minted WNBL contract for Morgan Yaeger was the catalyst for her turning it on against the Eastern Mavericks for the Southern Tigers 110-55 at the Cage. Yaeger torched the Mavs with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists and along with fellow WNBL player Demi Skinner who dropped 28 points with 8 triples (a team total of 18 at 47 percent). Mollie McKendrick also was a powerful point of authority with 17 points and 13 rebounds and import Jaedyn De La Cerda collected 17 points and 7 rebounds. The Mavs two imports in Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu (19 points) and Oksana Gouchie-Provencher (19 points and 8 rebounds) kept their team scoreboard ticking over in the second half with their team only fielding 8 players for the match.   

Central District Lions vs Norwood

Ice and Flame leave Lions behind in Sunday soiree

The Lions as predicted challenged at various times, but the Norwood Flames proved too classy and grabbed their tenth win of the season with a 65-91 win at the Den. Molly “Ice” Coleman dropped 8 points in a 7-29 second quarter to finish with 23 points at 64 percent and 6 rebounds that setup the victory with all five starters lodging double figures for the away side. Brooke Basham continued her fiery streak with 19 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds and Ally Wilson in one of her final games before heading overseas for the Commonwealth Games 3x3 team posted 10 points, 9 assists and 2 blocks. Sophie “SK” Kerridge also collected a season high impressive stats line of 15 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and steals. The Lions were competitive early and hit back in the third quarter through their superstars Raynisha Washington (25 points and 5 rebounds) and Casey Samuels (22 points including 6 long bombs from WNBA territory, 10 rebounds and 7 assists). Closing it to 59-69 with just over five minutes to go after trailing by 24 points the Lions looked like they may be able to pull an upset off, but a 6-22 run led by Kerridge closed off any opportunity of that happening.